We must stand up for consumer rights

On Nov. 5, Washington voters will decide whether or not to require food manufacturers to let consumers know if the products they sell contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

As a Washington citizen, voter and consumer, I support I-522, a citizen’s initiative to label GMOs. I’m also outraged to see that a handful of corporations are spending millions to defeat this initiative.

Monsanto alone has already contributed more than $4.8 million to the campaign against I-522. How will that money be used? To unleash an advertising campaign designed to frighten voters into voting against their own best interests.

Monsanto is obscenely profitable. The company makes most of those profits selling pesticides. Its only priority is its bottom line. Yet Monsanto will come into our state to run TV and radio ads in which it will pretend to care about the people who live here.

Don’t believe them.

I hope everyone in this state who eats food, and buys food to feed his or her family, will take a minute to think about why Monsanto would spend $4.8 million just to keep a few words off of an already long list of ingredients on food products. We have a chance to make history on Nov. 5 by standing up for consumer rights. Let’s not allow this opportunity to slip by.